Introduction:

Semiconductors are everywhere, inside your home inside your refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, laptops, computers, televisions, and smartphones. When you leave your house, you find them inside Electric vehicles, GPS tracking, automated control systems, fingerprint scanners and whatnot. Semiconductors are the core of the majority of consumer electronics and they are involved in every sector you see and utilize. Little do we know about the exact chemicals used in the semiconductor industry, as the ingredients are kept as trade secrets. In this article, we have explored the ways (including the ones that are not so popular), the semiconductor industry benefits the chemical sector.  If you want to know how these two sectors are linked, dive into the article to explore how.

The intricate link between the semiconductor industry and the chemical sector:

The production and advancement of the semiconductor industry are dependent on the specialized chemicals and the processes developed in the chemical industry.

The developing semiconductor industry:

With the growing technologies and demand for application-specific performances, semiconductor companies are pushing their boundaries of traditional silicon-based microprocessor technologies and exploring and coming up with chips based on compound semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and Gallium nitride (GaN). They bring in these advancements to increase the power efficiency, form factor and application-specific performance.

For instance, SiC semiconductors are reshaping the semiconductor industry due to their unique characteristics.

The SiC semiconductors are deployed in applications that involve higher voltages and temperature, or high-power applications. This has increased the efficiency in power conversion, reduced energy loss, faster switching speeds, and enhanced reliability. Therefore they are immensely utilized in telecommunications, industrial power supplies, aerospace and consumer electronics.

Unlike traditional semiconductors, they offer greater efficiency and performance thus driving further innovation and adoption across various industries. Due to their efficiency, ability to be used in higher temperature environments and performance, they are intensively used in industrial power supplies, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems.

Semiconductors impacting the growth of the chemical industry:

These factors are impacting the overall demand for a wide range of chemicals such as Silicon, Carbon and etching agents such as Hydrogen Fluoride, chlorine, sulphur Hexafluoride, and doping agents such as Nitrogen, aluminum, boron and cleaning and polishing agents such as hydrofluoric acid to remove oxides and other contaminants from SiC surfaces, Potassium hydroxide to smoothen the SiC wafers and Ammonium Hydroxide which is mixed with the RCA cleaning solution to remove organic contaminants and particles.

Therefore the manufacturing of semiconductors has increased the demand for high-purity chemicals and advancements related to the industry. For instance, manufacturing semiconductors requires specifically designed materials and chemicals, thus the chemical companies are propelled to invest in new facilities and technologies to cater to the demand, this has spurred economic growth and technological development.

Case studies:

JSR group’s outstanding technological capabilities in building smart societies:

JSR group of companies has understood the customer needs in terms of the semiconductor materials for the development of smart societies. The idea of making the semiconductor circuit wiring smaller is perceived to improve functionality, therefore JSR group has worked towards it to make the semiconductors work efficiently and gain better functionality.

At present, they have used extreme ultraviolet technology to pattern the finest lines on semiconductor chips. Their investment in production facilities that are capable of manufacturing EUV photoresists at scale, and adhering to stringent quality control measures have also ensured consistency and reliability in every batch produced has led to significant growth in the semiconductor industry.

JSR group of companies has brought in EUV photoresists which utilize advanced polymer structures that help in improving the sensitivity and resolution. The enhanced contrast due to the advanced chemical formulations has ensured the sharper patterns in these semiconductors.

Furthermore, the photoresists are designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the EUV lithography process, which includes high-energy exposure and subsequent etching steps.
Above all these photoresists can produce fine features that are critical for the miniaturization of semiconductor devices.

Linde India Limited drawing its decade of experience in manufacturing semiconductors with value-added capabilities:

Linde India Limited has been involved series of research to produce high-purity gases required for the manufacturing of semiconductors. They have developed a Genius system that uses advanced purification technologies to produce nitrogen with higher purity levels, specifically that meets the stringent requirements of semiconductor manufacturing. This “Genuis system” can be scaled to meet specific requirements of semiconductor manufacturing thereby providing flexibility in production planning.

Furthermore, it enables on-site generation that eliminates the need for transporting and storing the produced bulk nitrogen thereby improving overall productivity. In addition to that the system is considered as energy efficient and contributes at a greater level towards the sustainability goals of semiconductor manufacturers.

Understandably, every advancement in the semiconductor industry is impacting the growth of itself and the chemical industry.

To be continued…

With materials like Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium nitride (GaN) gaining traction due to their superior properties compared to conventional silicon, the demand for the specialized chemicals keeps rising, since their production and processing are completely reliant on these specialized chemicals. Furthermore, the rapid growth of electric vehicles, AI chips and machine learning advantages have impacted the growth semiconductor industry which is leading to the development of the chemical industry. Overall, the relationship between the semiconductor industry and the chemical industry is poised to strengthen and evolve significantly in the upcoming years.